and then (See 1a below.)
===
Rancher Bundy may be in violation of some remote Federal Law and may owe some money to the government but what he has also done is given us insight into the political power structure of Harry Reid who had his man appointed to head The Land Management Agency because the government controls most of Nevada and Reid gets huge campaign funds from developers who must to get concessions from this government agency.
Reid can hide behind sunglasses but I doubt he can stand the scrutiny of the sun shining on his political empire.
The man not only rules the Senate as a thug from Nevada would but he is also probably one of the most corrupt politicians to ever come to D.C. Estimates of his fortune run into the tens of millions.
Reid says Bundy is in violation of the law yet, Reid looks the other way when it comes to hordes entering our country in an unlawful manner.
===
A recent LTE I sent to the local paper to prove my 'fides' as a compassionate conservative:
"While out of town recently, I note a carriage horse bolted and hurt not only himself but also several cars.
In the interest of liberal pursuit of fairness and a search for equality and equal outcomes it would appear to me, at the very least, all our four legged friends be allowed health care coverage under Obama's "Affordable Health Care Act."
Yes, such an act of human kindness and compassion would add to our ballooning deficit but in the words of another humanist: "What Difference Does It Make?"
===
Not a scintilla, "NOT EVEN A SMIDGEN,"' of corruption or lying. just an entire bucket of e mails. (See 2 and 2a below.)
===
Is Obama a frustrated architect who never understood geometry or physics or just a plain old demagogue?
You decide! (See 3 below.)
===
Fortunately a ruse? (See 4 below.)
===
This author asks why are second generation American Muslims becoming more radical. This fact is particularly poignant since they allegedly benefit from integration into our society .
Ibrahim then asks why do we believe Westernizing Muslims in The Middle East will turn them into a people respecting the values of freedom etc?
Fascinating article. (See 5 below.)
===
While Obama is asleep at the switch Europe had better wake up to Putin's goal!
All too often one can trap themselves into extrapolating the current in a linear way.
Granted world events often prove fluid but, in the case of Putin's desires, I believe the West, led by a feckless American President totally self absorbed in his own cocoon thinking, is about to relive the Chamberlain Years.
Europe's dependency upon Russian energy, Europe's military unpreparedness and Europe's failing leadership is, in my opinion, sends a very ominous signal..
As for America, I believe we are experiencing a decline of our own in our economic fortunes, our position in the world and the emergence of other great nations. like India and China. are going to challenge us as no others have.
Add to this, the radicalization of the Muslim World and this president's belief that this is a figment of deranged and prejudicial imagination and you have icing on a crumbling cake.
America has become soft,dependent upon a government than cannot deliver, averse to further entanglements and currently is led by a president who is radically changing our ability to defend ourselves and our values.
Obama has brought into various government agencies radicals whose thinking is foreign to our ways and the damage they are doing to our society is incalculable.
Our best hope, as I wrote recently, is an awakened independent federal judiciary that will step back from their desire to de-constitutionalize us and will see the dark writing on the wall and stop the Obamination of our country. (See 6 below.)
===
DickNot a scintilla, "NOT EVEN A SMIDGEN,"' of corruption or lying. just an entire bucket of e mails. (See 2 and 2a below.)
===
Is Obama a frustrated architect who never understood geometry or physics or just a plain old demagogue?
You decide! (See 3 below.)
===
Fortunately a ruse? (See 4 below.)
===
This author asks why are second generation American Muslims becoming more radical. This fact is particularly poignant since they allegedly benefit from integration into our society .
Ibrahim then asks why do we believe Westernizing Muslims in The Middle East will turn them into a people respecting the values of freedom etc?
Fascinating article. (See 5 below.)
===
While Obama is asleep at the switch Europe had better wake up to Putin's goal!
All too often one can trap themselves into extrapolating the current in a linear way.
Granted world events often prove fluid but, in the case of Putin's desires, I believe the West, led by a feckless American President totally self absorbed in his own cocoon thinking, is about to relive the Chamberlain Years.
Europe's dependency upon Russian energy, Europe's military unpreparedness and Europe's failing leadership is, in my opinion, sends a very ominous signal..
As for America, I believe we are experiencing a decline of our own in our economic fortunes, our position in the world and the emergence of other great nations. like India and China. are going to challenge us as no others have.
Add to this, the radicalization of the Muslim World and this president's belief that this is a figment of deranged and prejudicial imagination and you have icing on a crumbling cake.
America has become soft,dependent upon a government than cannot deliver, averse to further entanglements and currently is led by a president who is radically changing our ability to defend ourselves and our values.
Obama has brought into various government agencies radicals whose thinking is foreign to our ways and the damage they are doing to our society is incalculable.
Our best hope, as I wrote recently, is an awakened independent federal judiciary that will step back from their desire to de-constitutionalize us and will see the dark writing on the wall and stop the Obamination of our country. (See 6 below.)
===
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) EGYPT DEMANDS COMPENSATION FOR 10 PLAGUES: “We demand that the State of Israel pay compensation for the ten plagues that our forefathers in Egypt suffered thousands of years ago as a result of the curses of the Jewish forefathers.” So wrote prominent Egyptian columnist Ahmad Al-Gamal shortly before the Jewish Passover, causing a great stir. “What is written in the Torah is that Pharaoh discriminated against the children of Israel. What have we to do with it? We therefore need not suffer!” exclaimed Al-Gamal, drawing a clear difference between the Egyptian kingdom of the Pharaohs and Islamic Egypt of today. Islam accepts the biblical narrative as historical evidence. The columnist suggested the government in Cairo press charges against Israel: “The Jews caused the land to be stricken with locusts and all agriculture destroyed, turned the Nile red with blood so that no one could drink its waters, sent darkness, frogs and killed the firstborn.” Al-Gamal continued: “During 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Children of Israel enjoyed our goods, which they stole before abandoning us.” The Egyptian column was picked up by the Israeli press. Some Israeli columnists retorted that Egypt need first compensate Israel for keeping the Jewish forefathers as slaves and for killing all male Jewish babies in the generation prior to the Exodus. (Israel Today)
As one blogger pointed out, “According to the Torah the Jews didn't curse Egypt at all. The Almighty did. Now, if the Egyptians want to sue Him, the courts of Heaven are open.”
Another gentleman noted that by making the absurd claims “Al-Gamal has publicly recognized the State of Israel.”
1a)
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2)The IRS Scandal Comes Into Focus
Nearly a year into the IRS scandal, we still don't know exactly what happened—though we are finally getting an inkling. That's thanks to the letter House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp sent this week to the Justice Department recommending a criminal probe of Lois Lerner.
The average citizen might be dizzied by the torrent of confusing terms—BOLO lists, Tigta, 501(c)(4)—and the array of accusations that have made up this IRS investigation. Mr. Camp's letter takes a step back to remind us why this matters, even as it provides compelling new information that goes to motive and method—and clarifies some of the curious behavior of Democrats during the investigation.
2)The IRS Scandal Comes Into Focus
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp lays out damning evidence of Lois Lerner's targeting of conservative groups.
By Kim Strassel
Nearly a year into the IRS scandal, we still don't know exactly what happened—though we are finally getting an inkling. That's thanks to the letter House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp sent this week to the Justice Department recommending a criminal probe of Lois Lerner.
The average citizen might be dizzied by the torrent of confusing terms—BOLO lists, Tigta, 501(c)(4)—and the array of accusations that have made up this IRS investigation. Mr. Camp's letter takes a step back to remind us why this matters, even as it provides compelling new information that goes to motive and method—and clarifies some of the curious behavior of Democrats during the investigation.
Motive: Republicans began this investigation looking for a direct link between the White House and IRS targeting. The more probable explanation all along was that Ms. Lerner felt emboldened by Democratic attacks against conservative groups to do what came naturally to her. We know from the record that she disdained money in politics. And we know from her prior tenure at the Federal Election Commission that she had a particular animus against conservative organizations.
As the illuminating timeline accompanying the Camp letter shows, Ms. Lerner's focus on shutting down Crossroads GPS came only after Obama adviser David Axelrod listed Crossroads among "front groups for foreign-controlled companies"; only after Senate Democrats Dick Durbin, Carl Levin, Chuck Schumer and others demanded the IRS investigate Crossroads; only after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a website to "expose donors" of Crossroads; and only after Obama's campaign lawyer, Bob Bauer, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about Crossroads.
The information in Mr. Camp's letter shows that Ms. Lerner sprang to action following a January 2013 meeting with Democracy 21, a campaign-finance outfit petitioning for a crackdown on Crossroads and the liberal big-dollar Priorities USA. (She never touched Priorities, run by former Obama aides.) The Camp outline suggests cause and effect, and that's new.
Lois Lerner at a congressional hearing, May 22, 2013.jonathan ernst/Reuters
Method: The general prohibition on releasing taxpayer information has meant that—up until Ways and Means voted Wednesday to release this info—it was impossible to know what precise actions Ms. Lerner had taken against whom. We now know that she took it upon herself to track down the status of Crossroads, to give grief to an IRS unit for not having audited it, to apparently direct another unit to deny it tax-exempt status, and to try to influence the appeals process.
We know, too, that Ms. Lerner did some of this in contravention of IRS policy, for instance involving herself in an audit decision that was supposed to be left to a special review committee. We have the story of a powerful bureaucrat targeting an organization and circumventing IRS safeguards against political or personal bias. That ought to mortify all members of Congress. That Democrats seem not to care gets to another point.
Aftermath: Democrats quickly dropped any feigned outrage over IRS targeting and circled the wagons around the agency. Why? The targeting was outrageous, the public was fuming, and nobody likes the IRS. Joining with Republicans would have only been right and popular.
That is, unless Democrats are worried. As the Camp timeline and details show, the IRS responded to liberal calls to go after conservative groups. Democrats weren't just sending letters. Little noticed in the immediate aftermath of the IRS scandal was a letter sent May 23, 2013, by Carl Levin and (Republican) John McCain to the new acting director of the IRS disguised as an expression of outrage over IRS targeting. Artfully hidden within it was Mr. Levin's acknowledgment that his subcommittee on investigations had for a full year been corresponding and meeting with IRS staff (including Ms. Lerner) to ask "why it was not enforcing the 501(c)(4) statute."
What was said in the course of that year? How much specific information was demanded on conservative groups, and how many demands dispensed on how to handle them? Good questions.
In 2012, both the IRS and Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings were targeting the group True the Vote. We now have email showing contact between a Cummings staffer and the IRS over that organization. How much more contact was there? It's one thing to write a public letter calling on a regulator to act. It's another to haul the regulator in front of your committee, or have your staff correspond with or pressure said regulator, with regard to ongoing actions. That's a no-no.
The final merit of Mr. Camp's letter is that he's called out Justice and Democrats. Mr. Camp was careful in laying out the ways Ms. Lerner may have broken the law, with powerful details. Democrats can't refute the facts, so instead they are howling about all manner of trivia—the release of names, the "secret" vote to release taxpayer information. But it remains that they are putting themselves on record in support of IRS officials who target groups, circumvent rules, and potentially break the law. That ought to go down well with voters.
2a) Report: Emails Show Justice Dept. Involved in IRS Tea Party Probe
Embattled former IRS official Lois Lerner last year discussed working with the Justice Department to prosecute nonprofit organizations that she felt had "lied" about their political activities, according to new documents released on Wednesday by Judicial Watch about the agency's targeting of conservative groups.
The new documents show Lerner's communications with Justice within days of publicly acknowledging that the Internal Revenue Service was singling out tea party, conservative, and religious groups.
They also indicate that the targeting may have reached further into the Obama White House despite Lerner's original assertions that it was all based out of the agency's Cincinnati field office.
In a May 8 email, for instance, Lerner said that she had received a call from Richard Pilger, director of the elections crimes unit at Justice.
Pilger asked whether the IRS could help the department "piece together false statement cases about applicants who 'lied'" on a particular IRS form, "saying they weren’t planning on doing political activity, and then turning around and making large visible political expenditures.
"DOJ is feeling like it needs to respond, but want to talk to the right folks at IRS to see whether there are impediments from our side and what, if any damage this might do to IRS programs," Lerner said in the email.
"I told him that sounded like we might need several folks from IRS…," she said.
Lerner wrote the email to Nikole Flax, who was chief of staff at the time to Steven Miller, who was the acting IRS commissioner.
She responded in an email the next day: "I think we should do it -- also need to include CI [Criminal Investigation Division], which we can help coordinate. Also, we need to reach out to [Federal Election Commission]. Does it make sense to consider including them in this or keep it separate?"
Lerner, who retired last September, oversaw the unit that evaluated applications for tax-exempt status. Miller was fired because of the scandal, and Flax has reportedly been targeted by congressional investigators.
Judicial Watch said on Wednesday that it had obtained the emails through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed last October. The watchdog group has sought documents showing how the IRS had targeted the groups between 2010 and the 2012 presidential election.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after the IRS failed to respond to four FOIA requests dating back to last May.
"These new emails show that the day before she broke the news of the IRS scandal, Lois Lerner was talking to a top Obama Justice Department official about whether the DOJ could prosecute the very same organizations that the IRS had already improperly targeted," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. "The IRS emails show Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is now implicated and conflicted in the IRS scandal."
Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that has been investigating the scandal, said the new emails underscored "the political nature of IRS tea party targeting and the extent to which supposed apolitical officials took direction from elected Democrats.
"These e-mails are part of an overwhelming body of evidence that political pressure from prominent Democrats led to the targeting of Americans for their political beliefs," the California Republican said in a statement.
"Now I see why the IRS is scared to give up the rest of Lois Lerner's emails,” Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan said in a statement.
The documents "further prove the coordination among the IRS, the Federal Election Commission, the Justice Department and committee Democrats to target conservatives," he said.
Jordan added that had the oversight panel not become involved, "Eric Holder’s politicized Justice Department would likely have been leveling trumped-up criminal charges against tea party groups to intimidate them from exercising their Constitutional rights."
President Barack Obama has denied GOP charges that the targeting of the groups was politically motivated or illegal, telling Fox News in February that "not even a smidgen of corruption" was involved in the specialized screening.
In addition, emails Issa's panel released last week showed that staff members of the oversight committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, had shared information with the IRS that effectively led the agency to investigate True the Vote after the group filed its application for tax-exempt status in 2010.
Cummings did not disclose any of those dealings with oversight committee Republicans,Issa charged.
In a March 27 email, Lerner told IRS staffers about an April 9 2013, hearing — and the document also suggests that the other Obama administration departments might have been targeting the conservative groups.
The tax-exempt status the groups were seeking was 501(c)(4), which allows them to keep their donors private.
"There are several groups of folks from the FEC world that are pushing tax fraud prosecution for c4s who report they are not conducting political activity when they are (or these folks think they are)," Lerner wrote in the email.
"One is my ex-boss Larry Noble (former general counsel at the the FEC), who is now president of Americans for Campaign Reform," she added.
"This is their latest push to shut these down.
"One IRS prosecution would make an impact and they wouldn't feel so comfortable doing the stuff," Lerner said. "So, don't be fooled about how this is being articulated — it is ALL about 501(c)(4) orgs and political activity."
Lerner ignited the controversy last May when she disclosed the scandal in response to a question asked at a conference in Chicago.
Her response came just before the Treasury Department's inspector general released a report disclosing the targeting.
President Obama fired Miller — and at least three other IRS workers have been placed on put on administrative leave.
In testimony before the oversight committee, Lerner has twice invoked the Fifth Amendment, though she has denied wrongdoing. The panel voted last week to hold her in contempt for her refusals.
If the full House finds Lerner in contempt, the matter would be referred to federal prosecutors.
Barack Obama appears to be a tormented man filled with resentment, anger, and disdain for anyone of an opinion or view other than his. He acts in the most hateful, spiteful, malevolent and vindictive ways in order to manipulate and maintain power and control over others. Perhaps, because, as a child, he grew up harboring an abiding bitterness toward the U.S. that was instilled in him by his family and mentors…it seems to have never left him. It is not the color of his skin that is a problem in America. Rather it is the blackness that fills his soul and the hollowness in his heart where there should be abiding pride and love for the USA.
Think: Have we ever heard Obama speak lovingly of the U.S. or its people, with deep appreciation and genuine respect for our history, our customs, our sufferings and our blessings? Has he ever revealed that, like most patriotic Americans, he gets "goose bumps" when a band plays "The Star Spangled Banner," or sheds a tear when he hears a beautiful rendition of "America the Beautiful?" Does his heart burst with pride when millions of American flags wave on a National holiday - or someone plays "taps" on a trumpet?
Has he ever shared the admiration of the military, as we who are lovers of those who keep us free, feel when soldiers march by? It is doubtful—because Obama did not grow up sharing our experiences or our values. He did not sit at the knee of a Grandfather or Uncle who showed us his medals and told us about the bravery of his fellow troops as they tramped through foreign lands to keep us free. He didn't have grandparents who told stories of suffering and then coming to America, penniless, and the opportunities they had for building a business and life for their children.
Away from this country as a young child, Obama didn't delight in being part of America and its greatness. He wasn't singing our patriotic songs in kindergarten, or standing on the roadside for a holiday parade and eating a hot dog, or lighting sparklers around a campfire on July 4th as fireworks exploded over head, or placing flags on the grave sites of fallen and beloved American heroes.
Rather he was separated from all of these experiences and doesn't really understand us and what it means to be an American. He is void of the basic emotions that most feel regarding this country and insensitive to the instinctive pride we have in our national heritage. His opinions were formed by those who either envied us or wanted him to devalue the United States and the traditions and patriotism that unites us.
He has never given a speech that is filled with calm, reassuring, complimentary, heartfelt statements about all the people in the U.S. Or one that inspires us to be better and grateful and proud that in a short time our country became a leader, and a protector of many.
Quite the contrary, his speeches always degenerate into mocking, ridiculing tirades as he faults our achievements as well as any critics or opposition for the sake of a laugh, or to bolster his ego. He uses his Office to threaten and create fear while demeaning and degrading any American who opposes his policies and actions. A secure leader, who has noble self-esteem and not false confidence, refrains from showing such dread of critics and displaying a cocky, haughty attitude.
Mostly, his time seems to be spent causing dissension, unrest, and anxiety among the people of America, rather than uniting us (even though he was presented to us as the "Great Uniter").
He creates chaos for the sake of keeping people separated, envious, aggrieved and ready to argue. Under his leadership Americans have been kept on edge, rather than in a state of comfort and security. He incites people to be aggressive toward, and disrespectful of, those of differing opinions. And through such behavior, Obama has lowered the standards for self-control and mature restraint to the level of street-fighting gangs, when he should be raising the bar for people to strive toward becoming more considerate, tolerant, self-disciplined, self-sustaining, and self-assured.
Not a day goes by that he is not attempting to defy our laws, remove our rights, override established procedures, install controversial appointees, enact divisive mandates, and assert a dictatorial form of power.
Never has there been a leader of this great land who used such tactics to harm and hurt the people and this country. Never have we had a President who spoke with such a caustic, evil tongue against the citizenry rather than present himself as a soothing, calming and trustworthy force.
Never, in this country, have we experienced how much stress one man can cause a nation of people - on a daily basis!
Obama has promoted the degeneration of peace, civility, and quality of cooperation between us. He thrives on tearing us down, rather than building us up. He is the Architect of the Decline of America, and the epitome of a Demagogue.
2a) Report: Emails Show Justice Dept. Involved in IRS Tea Party Probe
Wednesday, 16 Apr 2014 07:01 PM
The new documents show Lerner's communications with Justice within days of publicly acknowledging that the Internal Revenue Service was singling out tea party, conservative, and religious groups.
They also indicate that the targeting may have reached further into the Obama White House despite Lerner's original assertions that it was all based out of the agency's Cincinnati field office.
In a May 8 email, for instance, Lerner said that she had received a call from Richard Pilger, director of the elections crimes unit at Justice.
Pilger asked whether the IRS could help the department "piece together false statement cases about applicants who 'lied'" on a particular IRS form, "saying they weren’t planning on doing political activity, and then turning around and making large visible political expenditures.
"DOJ is feeling like it needs to respond, but want to talk to the right folks at IRS to see whether there are impediments from our side and what, if any damage this might do to IRS programs," Lerner said in the email.
"I told him that sounded like we might need several folks from IRS…," she said.
Lerner wrote the email to Nikole Flax, who was chief of staff at the time to Steven Miller, who was the acting IRS commissioner.
She responded in an email the next day: "I think we should do it -- also need to include CI [Criminal Investigation Division], which we can help coordinate. Also, we need to reach out to [Federal Election Commission]. Does it make sense to consider including them in this or keep it separate?"
Lerner, who retired last September, oversaw the unit that evaluated applications for tax-exempt status. Miller was fired because of the scandal, and Flax has reportedly been targeted by congressional investigators.
Judicial Watch said on Wednesday that it had obtained the emails through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed last October. The watchdog group has sought documents showing how the IRS had targeted the groups between 2010 and the 2012 presidential election.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after the IRS failed to respond to four FOIA requests dating back to last May.
"These new emails show that the day before she broke the news of the IRS scandal, Lois Lerner was talking to a top Obama Justice Department official about whether the DOJ could prosecute the very same organizations that the IRS had already improperly targeted," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. "The IRS emails show Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is now implicated and conflicted in the IRS scandal."
Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that has been investigating the scandal, said the new emails underscored "the political nature of IRS tea party targeting and the extent to which supposed apolitical officials took direction from elected Democrats.
"These e-mails are part of an overwhelming body of evidence that political pressure from prominent Democrats led to the targeting of Americans for their political beliefs," the California Republican said in a statement.
"Now I see why the IRS is scared to give up the rest of Lois Lerner's emails,” Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan said in a statement.
The documents "further prove the coordination among the IRS, the Federal Election Commission, the Justice Department and committee Democrats to target conservatives," he said.
Jordan added that had the oversight panel not become involved, "Eric Holder’s politicized Justice Department would likely have been leveling trumped-up criminal charges against tea party groups to intimidate them from exercising their Constitutional rights."
President Barack Obama has denied GOP charges that the targeting of the groups was politically motivated or illegal, telling Fox News in February that "not even a smidgen of corruption" was involved in the specialized screening.
In addition, emails Issa's panel released last week showed that staff members of the oversight committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, had shared information with the IRS that effectively led the agency to investigate True the Vote after the group filed its application for tax-exempt status in 2010.
Cummings did not disclose any of those dealings with oversight committee Republicans,Issa charged.
In a March 27 email, Lerner told IRS staffers about an April 9 2013, hearing — and the document also suggests that the other Obama administration departments might have been targeting the conservative groups.
The tax-exempt status the groups were seeking was 501(c)(4), which allows them to keep their donors private.
"There are several groups of folks from the FEC world that are pushing tax fraud prosecution for c4s who report they are not conducting political activity when they are (or these folks think they are)," Lerner wrote in the email.
"One is my ex-boss Larry Noble (former general counsel at the the FEC), who is now president of Americans for Campaign Reform," she added.
"This is their latest push to shut these down.
"One IRS prosecution would make an impact and they wouldn't feel so comfortable doing the stuff," Lerner said. "So, don't be fooled about how this is being articulated — it is ALL about 501(c)(4) orgs and political activity."
Lerner ignited the controversy last May when she disclosed the scandal in response to a question asked at a conference in Chicago.
Her response came just before the Treasury Department's inspector general released a report disclosing the targeting.
President Obama fired Miller — and at least three other IRS workers have been placed on put on administrative leave.
In testimony before the oversight committee, Lerner has twice invoked the Fifth Amendment, though she has denied wrongdoing. The panel voted last week to hold her in contempt for her refusals.
If the full House finds Lerner in contempt, the matter would be referred to federal prosecutors.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3)
The Architect of Destruction
Barack Obama appears to be a tormented man filled with resentment, anger, and disdain for anyone of an opinion or view other than his. He acts in the most hateful, spiteful, malevolent and vindictive ways in order to manipulate and maintain power and control over others. Perhaps, because, as a child, he grew up harboring an abiding bitterness toward the U.S. that was instilled in him by his family and mentors…it seems to have never left him. It is not the color of his skin that is a problem in America. Rather it is the blackness that fills his soul and the hollowness in his heart where there should be abiding pride and love for the USA.
Think: Have we ever heard Obama speak lovingly of the U.S. or its people, with deep appreciation and genuine respect for our history, our customs, our sufferings and our blessings? Has he ever revealed that, like most patriotic Americans, he gets "goose bumps" when a band plays "The Star Spangled Banner," or sheds a tear when he hears a beautiful rendition of "America the Beautiful?" Does his heart burst with pride when millions of American flags wave on a National holiday - or someone plays "taps" on a trumpet?
Has he ever shared the admiration of the military, as we who are lovers of those who keep us free, feel when soldiers march by? It is doubtful—because Obama did not grow up sharing our experiences or our values. He did not sit at the knee of a Grandfather or Uncle who showed us his medals and told us about the bravery of his fellow troops as they tramped through foreign lands to keep us free. He didn't have grandparents who told stories of suffering and then coming to America, penniless, and the opportunities they had for building a business and life for their children.
Away from this country as a young child, Obama didn't delight in being part of America and its greatness. He wasn't singing our patriotic songs in kindergarten, or standing on the roadside for a holiday parade and eating a hot dog, or lighting sparklers around a campfire on July 4th as fireworks exploded over head, or placing flags on the grave sites of fallen and beloved American heroes.
Rather he was separated from all of these experiences and doesn't really understand us and what it means to be an American. He is void of the basic emotions that most feel regarding this country and insensitive to the instinctive pride we have in our national heritage. His opinions were formed by those who either envied us or wanted him to devalue the United States and the traditions and patriotism that unites us.
He has never given a speech that is filled with calm, reassuring, complimentary, heartfelt statements about all the people in the U.S. Or one that inspires us to be better and grateful and proud that in a short time our country became a leader, and a protector of many.
Quite the contrary, his speeches always degenerate into mocking, ridiculing tirades as he faults our achievements as well as any critics or opposition for the sake of a laugh, or to bolster his ego. He uses his Office to threaten and create fear while demeaning and degrading any American who opposes his policies and actions. A secure leader, who has noble self-esteem and not false confidence, refrains from showing such dread of critics and displaying a cocky, haughty attitude.
Mostly, his time seems to be spent causing dissension, unrest, and anxiety among the people of America, rather than uniting us (even though he was presented to us as the "Great Uniter").
He creates chaos for the sake of keeping people separated, envious, aggrieved and ready to argue. Under his leadership Americans have been kept on edge, rather than in a state of comfort and security. He incites people to be aggressive toward, and disrespectful of, those of differing opinions. And through such behavior, Obama has lowered the standards for self-control and mature restraint to the level of street-fighting gangs, when he should be raising the bar for people to strive toward becoming more considerate, tolerant, self-disciplined, self-sustaining, and self-assured.
Not a day goes by that he is not attempting to defy our laws, remove our rights, override established procedures, install controversial appointees, enact divisive mandates, and assert a dictatorial form of power.
Never has there been a leader of this great land who used such tactics to harm and hurt the people and this country. Never have we had a President who spoke with such a caustic, evil tongue against the citizenry rather than present himself as a soothing, calming and trustworthy force.
Never, in this country, have we experienced how much stress one man can cause a nation of people - on a daily basis!
Obama has promoted the degeneration of peace, civility, and quality of cooperation between us. He thrives on tearing us down, rather than building us up. He is the Architect of the Decline of America, and the epitome of a Demagogue.
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4)
4)
| Fake Flyer Calls for Donetsk Jews to 'Register' |
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 April 17, 2014, 12:15 p.m. WASHINGTON, D.C.
TO: NCSJ Leadership and Interested Parties
FROM: Stephen M. Greenberg, Chairman; Alexander Smukler, NCSJ President; Mark B. Levin, NCSJ Executive Director UKRAINE UPDATE #22 On the evening of April 15, official-looking documents were circulated in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, calling on Jews to register with the Nationalities Commissioner and pay $50 or lose their citizenship and face deportation. Three individuals wearing ski masks and the flag of the Russian Federation were seen distributing the flyers near the Donetsk synagogue. The leaflets read: “Dear citizens of Jewish nationality! Due to the fact that leaders of the Jewish Community of Ukraine support the Bandera junta in Kiev and are hostile to the Orthodox Donetsk Republic and its citizens, the main headquarters of the Donetsk Republic declares the following:  A leaflet distributed in Donetsk, Ukraine, calls for all Jewish people over 16 years-old to register as Jews. (Photo: The Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism) The flyers were signed in the name of Denis Pushilin, the leader of Donetsk’s pro-Russian separatists, who led the takeover of several government buildings and claimed the city as the Donetsk Republic. NCSJ has contacted the Donetsk Jewish community leaders, who called the flyers a provocation. They said that all authorities have denied any connection to the flyers, and that Pushilin has denied authorship. Several members of the community went to the Nationalities Commissioner, who repudiated the flyer, and said that the leaflets were distributed to cause unrest among the Jewish population. Similar leaflets were distributed targeting international students at the local university. In addition to the local community, NCSJ has been in regular contact with the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Kiev on the issue of the flyers. NCSJ will continue to monitor the situation in Donetsk and throughout Ukraine, and provide you with timely and critical updates.
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5) How Modernity 'Radicalizes' Western Muslims
by Raymond Ibrahim
FrontPage Magazine 
A new Danish statistical studyfinds that "Muslims [are] 218 percent more criminal in second generation than first." While some of these crimes are clearly related to Islam—such as attacks on Muslim apostates to Christianity—others, such as rampant theft of non-Muslims, would appear banal, until one realizes that even robbery and plunder is justified by Islamic doctrine—as one UK Muslim cleric once clearly said.
The interesting question here is why are second generation Muslims, who are presumably more Westernized than their Muslim parents, also more "radical"? Lest one dismiss this phenomenon as a product of economics or some other "grievance" against European host nations, the fact is, even in America, where Muslims are much better assimilated than in Europe, they too are turning to "radicalism."
For example, some time back, Attorney General Eric Holder said that "the threat [of terrorism] has changed … to worrying about people in the United States, American citizens—raised here, born here, and who for whatever reason, have decided that they are going to become radicalized and take up arms against the nation in which they were born."
Around the same time, Sue Myrick, then a member of Congress, wrote a particularly candid letter on "radicalization" to President Obama:
Myrick named several American Muslims as examples of those who, while "embodying the American dream, at least socio-economically," were still "radicalized," astutely adding, "The truth is that if grievances were the sole cause of terrorism, we would see daily acts by Americans who have lost their jobs and homes in this economic downturn."
Quite so. Yet, though Myrick's observations were limited to the domestic scene, they beg the following, more cosmic, question: If American Muslims, who enjoy Western benefits—including democracy, liberty, prosperity, and freedom of expression—are still being radicalized, why then do we insist that the importation of these same Western benefits to the Muslim world will eliminate its even more indigenous or authentic form of "radicalization"?
After all, the mainstream position evoked by most politicians maintains that all U.S. sacrifices in the Muslim world (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.) will pay off once Muslims discover how wonderful Western ways are, and happily slough off their "Islamist" veneer, which, as the theory goes, is a product of—you guessed it—a lack of democracy, liberty, prosperity, and freedom of expression.
Yet here are American and European Muslims, immersed in the bounties of the West, and still do they turn to violent jihad. Why think their counterparts, who are born and raised in the Muslim world, where Islam permeates every aspect of life, will respond differently?
In fact, far from eliminating "radicalization," Western values can actually exacerbate Islamic tendencies—hence why second generation, "Westernized" Muslims are also becoming more "radicalized" than their parents.
Some already known that Western concessions to Islam—in the guise of multiculturalism, "cultural sensitivity," political correctness, and self-censorship—only bring out the worst of Islam's "schoolyard bully." Yet even some of the most prized aspects of Western civilization—personal freedom, rule of law, human dignity—when articulated through an Islamic framework, have the capacity to "radicalize" Muslims.
Consider: the West's commitment to the law as supreme arbitrator, for the Westernized Muslim becomes a commitment to establish and enforce Islamic law, Sharia; the West's commitment to democracy, for the Westernized Muslim becomes a commitment to theocracy, including an anxious impulse to resurrect the caliphate; Western notions of human dignity and pride, when articulated through an Islamic paradigm (which sees only fellow Muslims as equals) induces rage when Muslims—Palestinians, Afghanis, Iraqis, etc.—are seen under Western, infidel dominion; Western notions of autonomy and personal freedom have even helped "Westernize" the notion of jihad into an individual duty, though it has traditionally been held by Sharia as a communal duty.
In short, a set of noble principles articulated through a foreign paradigm can lead to abominations. In this case, the better principles of Western civilization are being devoured, absorbed, and regurgitated into something equally potent, though from the other end of the spectrum.
Put differently, just as a stress on human freedom, human dignity, and universal justice produces good humans, re-articulating these same concepts through an Islamic framework that qualifies them with the word "Muslim"—Muslim freedom, Muslim dignity, and Muslim justice—leads to what is being called "radicalization."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6) Putin's Plan for Overturning the European Order By Ivan Krastev 
Ivan Kratsev is Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. This essay is featured in the eBook "Crisis in Ukraine" from Foreign Affairs. Order your copy here.
Russia's willingness to violate Ukraine's territorial sovereignty is the gravest challenge to the European order in over half a century. The conflict pits a vast nuclear power against a state equal in size to France, an autocratic regime against a revolutionary government. The Russian intervention in Ukraine raises questions about the security guarantees that the West made to Ukraine after the country gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994, and it flies in the face of many Europeans' belief that, in recent years, a continental war has become all but impossible. The end result may be the emergence of a third Russian empire or a failed Ukrainian state at the center of Europe. Russia's aggression in Ukraine should not be understood as an opportunistic power grab. Rather, it is an attempt to politically, culturally, and militarily resist the West. Russia resorted to military force because it wanted to signal a game change, not because it had no other options. Indeed, it had plenty of other ways to put pressure on Kiev, including through the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol, the Ukrainian city in which the force is based; playing with gas prices; demanding that Ukraine start paying off its government debt to Russia; and drumming up anti-Ukrainian sentiment among Ukraine's sizeable Russian population. Further, senior American figures had already noted that the Ukrainian crisis could not be solved without Russia, and European leaders had expressed their unhappiness about a new (and unfortunate) law that Ukraine's transitional government passed soon after it was formed, which degraded the status of the Russian language. In other words, resorting to force was unnecessary. It was also dangerous: Ukraine is a big country, and its public, still in a revolutionary mood, is primed to fight for a patriotic cause. Moscow's intervention will provoke strong anti-Russian sentiments in Ukraine and will perhaps bring what's left of the country closer to the EU and NATO. Military intervention in Ukraine also risks unleashing a real humanitarian crisis within Russia. According to Russian sources, nearly 700,000 Ukrainians have fled to Russia over the last two months. Around 143,000 of them have asked for asylum. A war in Ukraine could triple these numbers. Finally, it is easy to foresee that Moscow's use of force will increase Russia's political isolation. It has already resulted in some economic and political sanctions, which could be a knockout punch to Russia's stagnating economy. By some estimates, the direct costs to Russia of a war in Ukraine could reach over three percent of Russian GDP (over $60 billion). Yet Putin decided to throw caution to the wind. Anger is one of his reasons for doing so. Putin was defeated twice in Ukraine: first during the 2004 Orange revolution, which brought to power a pro-Western coalition led by Yulia Tymoshenko, and second during the recent protests, which booted President ViKtor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian politician, out of office. Moscow had bet on Yanukovych and had tried to hold him hostage to its own interests. For example, it pressed him to refuse to sign an Association Agreement with the EU (his failure to sign was what first sparked the protests in Ukraine) and loaned Ukraine nearly $15 billion, thus making the country dependent on Russia. But it was really Putin who became hostage to the increasingly unpopular Yanukovych and his hapless cronies. When Yanukovych lost power, Putin suddenly and unexpectedly lost his strategic partner. Putin's escalation, at least in part, is an attempt to cover up the failures of his Ukraine policy.
For now, Moscow wants to topple the new regime in Kiev, which it views as being made up of radicals who won't survive more than several weeks in power. By pressuring the regime with an invasion and by heightening the fears of the Russian speakers in Ukraine's south and the east, Putin will likely get what he wants. His strategic goal is not to cut off Crimea, as recent events might suggest, but to bring about a constitutional crisis that will remake Ukraine into a confederate state with a very weak center, the eastern part of which will be more integrated with Russia and the western part closer to Poland and the EU. Realizing that he has lost Kiev, in short, Putin seems to want to move Ukraine's center of power elsewhere.
The worst part of all this is that Putin knows that he can likely get away with it. "What can we do?" asked Fiona Hill, a Brookings Institution scholar who was a top U.S. intelligence officer on Russia during the Georgia war, in a recent interview with The New York Times. "We'll talk about sanctions. We'll talk about red lines. We'll basically drive ourselves into a frenzy. And he'll stand back and just watch it. He just knows that none of the rest of us want a war."
But maybe the rest of us should. The Putin of 2014 is not the Putin of 2004, or even the Putin of 2008. He is no longer simply the ruthless operator who is interested in power and money, the one who dreams of getting Russia back on the global stage. He is interested in ideas. He presents his advisers with the writings of Ivan Ilyn, the Russian philosopher and ideologue of the Russian All-Military Union. He personally directs the writing of history textbooks. In the last few years, and particularly after the explosion of protests in Moscow in the winter of 2011-12, Putin has come to view himself as a last bastion of order and traditional values. He is convinced that liberalism is contagious and that Western mores and institutions present a real danger to Russian society and the Russian state. He surely dreams of the pre-1914 days, when Russia was autocratic but accepted, revolutions were not tolerated, and Russia could be part of Europe while preserving its distinctive culture and traditions.
From that perspective, the Ukrainian revolution is a symbol of everything that is wrong with today's Europe. It flirts with people power and moral relativism, it stirs passions, and it shows utter disregard for Russia's geopolitical ambitions. And with his adventure across the border, Putin has signaled that he won't stand for it. He is apparently ready to abandon all thoughts of Russia being a European nation in good standing -- far better for it to be a civilization of its own -- and has proved willing to sacrifice his country's economic interests to achieve his goals.
In other words, Putin's march on Crimea is very different from Russia's war in Georgia in 2008. During that debacle, Moscow used force to draw a red line that it insisted Western capitals not cross. In Crimea, Moscow has demonstrated its readiness to cross the red lines drawn by the West -- to question legal norms and the structure of the post-Cold War European order. His move is a challenge: Is the United States still ready to guarantee the security of European democracies, or does it prefer offshore balancing and pivoting to Asia? Is Germany powerful enough to deal with a Russia that is uninterested in being European?
Whatever the answers, it will be hard to counter Putin. He has refused to play by Western rules. He seems not to fear political isolation; he invites it. He seems not worry about the closing of borders; he hopes for it. His foreign policy amounts to a deep rejection of modern Western values and an attempt to draw a clear line between Russia's world and Europe's. For Putin, Crimea is likely just the beginning. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ||||||
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